The Colchic rainforests and wetlands, known as a ‘slice of the Amazon in Eurasia’, is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion located along the southeastern shore of the Black Sea. Machakhela National Park is one of the protected areas in Ajara created to conserve the unique Colchic rainforests that are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

With funding from the Government of Japan, UNDP helps protect the globally unique Colchic forest ecosystem in the Machakhela Protected Areas and reduce the risk of forest degradation caused by fuelwood over-exploitation, climate change and global human security challenges. 

The initiative contributes to Georgia’s commitment under its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) - increasing the carbon capturing capacity of forests by 10% by 2030 compared to the 2015 level and reducing 50-57% of its total GHG emissions with international support by 2030 compared to 1990.

The project is part of UNDP's flagship Climate Promise initiative and addresses its global pillars:

1. Clean energy and net zero pathways, promoting investments in clean energy and providing communities with biofuels from sustainably managed forests. 
2. Scaling up adaptation, resilience and disaster risk reduction tools to leave no one behind.